Month: December 2017

When we were in Abruzzo, we walked to a beautiful hillside restaurant and ate langoustine and drank the local wine. It was excellent. The entertainment was provided by the spectacle of the only other diners; a very elderly mafia-don type and his very young, very glamourous girlfriend. When his phone rang the ringtone was the…

Another attractive looking bottle… The same wine is sold in the UK by M&S at £12, with a slightly different label. Better than their £10 Macon Villages which I find slightly over-priced. Tasting notes: A full-flavoured Mâcon from a 30 hectare family estate. It displays pineapple (and apparently ‘acacia’ flavours – however having never tasted…

Robert Parker gave this wine 91 points. But he’s like Craig Revel-Horwood on Strictly come Dancing (in the sense that he marks harshly, I hasten to add). I’ve scored it 92 – and would add extra marks for an attractive bottle (good for dinner parties & prospective in-laws) but that would be stupid… Tasting notes:…

A good Christmas day wine line-up should contain a good fizz to kick things off. As it’s the first drink of the day it should be as good as you can afford! We usually have assorted nibbles with this aperitif. This year we have Veuve Clicquot Rose. Tasting notes: Notes of red fruits. Biscuity, brioche,…

This wine is not one for the ABC brigade; it’s oaked and New World. However for lovers of Chardonnay this is good wine at a fair price. Tasting notes: Yellow straw colour. Lemon, honey and stonefruit notes. Fresh and zingy. Matured in oak. Region of Origin – Adelaide Hills Wine Colour – White Price –…

These are the white wines for the festive season – and they’re all French. They’re not all Chardonnays from Burgundy, however – there’s a lovely Sancerre on the list! First up (left)is Signe Bourgogne Montagny Tasting notes: Notes of tropical fruits. Some minerality & creaminess on the palate. Elegant for the money. Good texture. Wine…

This wine, at £6 a bottle – is well made and good value. It’s attributed to M&S winemaker Jeneve Williams – who has selected and blended some excellent wines(particularly the whites) for M&S. She’s a Kiwi, who trained in Australia and has (for the last five years) travelled the world selecting wines for M&S. Tasting…

I’ve tasted my way from Nantes to Pouilly-sur-Loire over the course of several visits to the region. I’m a big fan of Muscadet in the summer; for me it’s the perfect wine to wash down moules mariniere. I wrote recently that Gros Plant was made from the Picpoul grape – however research for this article…

We used to go to France every 2 months to stock up on food and wine. With declining Sterling rates, busier lives and Calais resembling a post-Apocalyptic bandit-zone we lost interest… Last week we returned. Calais is still not what it used to be; there’s high fencing, razor wire, and most of the roadside trees…

I thought this was good, if not memorable Sauvignon Blanc. Very good value at £5, however and good everyday table wine. This comes from Cono Sur, another branch of Concha y Toro. Tasting notes: Initially detected some sharp, fruit notes. Hints of citrus fruits. Good texture. Dry (but not bone dry). Wine Colour – White…